Press Releases

University of Utah professors Bradley R. Cairns, professor and chair of Oncological Sciences and senior director of Basic Science at Huntsman Cancer Institute; Dana Carroll, distinguished professor of Biochemistry and HCI investigator; and Christopher D. Hacon, distinguished professor of Mathematics, were raised to a high honor in science today with their election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is partnering with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to implement a nationwide colorectal cancer outreach and education initiative in support of increasing colorectal cancer screening rates in rural, frontier, and culturally diverse communities in Utah. The Screen to Save Initiative will launch in March at HCI and 48 other cancer centers around the nation, targeting average risk adults age 50 and older.

Research published today in Nature from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah shows how epithelial cells naturally turn over, maintaining constant numbers between cell division and cell death.

Once breast cancer spreads through the body, it can degrade a patient’s healthy bones, causing numerous problems. Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified a new way that bones get destroyed through cancer. And they’ve also learned how to block that destruction with a new drug. Initial tests with patients show promising results.

New research from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah uncovered distinct types of tumors within small cell lung cancer that look and act differently from one another. Scientists also identified a targeted drug combination that worked well with one specific tumor type. The study was published today in Cancer Cell. The findings suggest small cell lung cancer should not be treated as a uniform disease

Recognizing a critical need to improve national vaccination rates for human papillomavirus (HPV), Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah has united with each of the 69 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers in support of recently revised recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah will head an international study to find out how lifestyle and other health factors impact colon and rectal cancer outcomes. HCI was awarded an $8.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to lead and expand an ongoing project in colon cancer research.

As part of its ongoing commitment to patient safety, Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is standing with a national campaign to end a dangerous chemotherapy error. Just Bag It: The NCCN Campaign for Safe Vincristine Handling, launched today by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), encourages health care providers to adopt a policy to always dilute and administer the medication vincristine in a mini IV-drip bag to prevent the improper administration of the drug.

SALT LAKE CITY—More than 4,000 children and teens are diagnosed with brain cancer each year and the disease kills more children than any other cancer. Writing this week in the journal Cell Reports, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah report they have identified an existing group of drugs that appear to reduce or eliminate a certain subgroup of childhood brain cancers while sparing normal brain tissue. The research was conducted using a new zebrafish animal model system developed by the researchers, which closely resembles an aggressive subtype of pediatric brain tumors.

SALT LAKE CITY—Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah announced today the results of a study that found that circumstances in childhood, such as parental occupation at birth and neighborhood income, may be associated with different risks of certain cancers later in life.
HCI researchers and collaborators at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Temple University Health System in Philadelphia analyzed cancer risk and socioeconomic status (SES) of Baby Boomers (for this study, those born during 1945 – 1959,) in two Utah counties.

SALT LAKE CITY—Officials at University of Utah Health Care (UUHC) today announced that Ben Tanner, Huntsman Cancer Institute’s (HCI) current director of clinical operations and chief operating officer (COO) has been named the cancer hospital’s executive director, replacing Ray Lynch, who is retiring after 13 years of service. Tanner will assume his duties immediately.

SALT LAKE CITY—Jody Rosenblatt, Ph.D., a cell biologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and an associate professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Scholar, HHMI announced today: https://www.hhmi.org/news/philanthropies-announce-selection-faculty-scholars. The award provides $1 million to fund her research over the course of five years.

SALT LAKE CITY—Officials at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah today announced the creation of a new center to be housed in the soon-to-be-completed expansion of HCI’s research enterprise, the Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center. The new center will be called the Huntsman Center for Health Outcomes and Population Equity (HOPE) and will focus on discovering new ways to prevent and treat cancer among underserved populations, including individuals living in poverty and residents of rural (between 6.1 and 99.9 persons/sq. mile) and frontier (<6.1 persons/sq. mile) areas.

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is launching a unique program, called HCI-Total Cancer Care, which will follow patients through cancer screenings, treatments, and into good health throughout their lives.
The program, which is borne out of HCI’s membership in the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN), utilizes patient data to help match patients to clinical trials and treatment developments happening across the country, offering never-before-seen access to cutting edge innovations in cancer care, while tracking a patient’s health throughout his or her lifetime.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet met with patients and leaders of Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and the University of Utah during a brief visit to Huntsman Cancer Institute today, Tuesday, June 21. His visit coincides with his appearance later in the afternoon at the University’s Jon M. Huntsman Center where he will speak about compassion and universal responsibility.

Eye cancer took the life of author and neurologist Oliver Sacks last year, bringing attention to the rare and deadly disease. Scientists have tried to develop precision treatments against cancers like this one, but the mutations that cause them have proven difficult to block with drugs.

Despite studies that claim people with cancer are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease—raising the possibility that what triggers cancer also prevents the neurodegenerative disorder—a new investigation finds a more somber explanation. Many cancer patients don’t live long enough to get Alzheimer’s. The research, led by investigators at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, was published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

Huntsman Cancer Institute’s CEO and director, Mary Beckerle, PhD, has been asked to join Vice President Joe Biden’s Moonshot Program Initiative as an invited member of a new Blue Ribbon Panel, tasked with advising the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) on the scientific opportunities available to accelerate progress against cancer and evaluate potential new investments in cancer research.

Inheriting a mutation in the APC gene leads to a nearly 100% lifetime risk of colorectal cancer. While colon cancer can be kept at bay by removing the large intestine, these patients also have up to a 15% risk of getting cancer in the small intestine, which is the leading cause of cancer death in this patient group. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), has identified the first prevention treatment for these patients, a two-drug combination that significantly reduces the number and size of precancerous polyps in the small intestine.

(February 26, 2016) – Today Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) hosted Vice President Joe Biden as a part of the White House administration’s “moonshot” initiative to double the rate of progress toward curing cancer. During his visit, the vice president toured the facility, was given an inside look at the Utah Population Database and participated in a roundtable discussion comprised of Huntsman Cancer Foundation board chairman Jon Huntsman Jr., CEO and director of HCI Dr. Mary Beckerle and Senator Orrin Hatch. Local cancer survivors and physicians, researchers and experts in the field also participated in the roundtable.